These papers document the career of astronomer John A. Anderson. The bulk of the documentation is in the form of correspondence, calculations, drawings, and photos. They relate chiefly to Palomar Observatory and Anderson's work on the instrument and optical design of the telescope.

John August Anderson was born on August 7, 1876, in Rollag, Minnesota, the sixth son of Norwegian immigrants. He earned a bachelor's degree from Valparaiso College in Indiana in 1900. After a brief period of teaching, he began graduate study at Johns Hopkins University and received his PhD in 1907. His thesis was a study of the emission and absorption spectra of the oxides of the metals neodymium and erbium.

3.5 linear feet

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Collection is open for research.